


Open Your Eyes, and Wake Up

by LadyAikaterina



Series: Luttes Writing Prompts [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Writers Prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-21 14:26:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2471480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAikaterina/pseuds/LadyAikaterina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>30 year old Levi is struggling through life. He can hardly make ends meet, and everything seems to be crashing down around him. A chance meeting with a mysterious, golden-eyed man, however, starts putting things into perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Horror

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lutte](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lutte/gifts).



> Prompt: Horror
> 
> Okay. A few notes before the prompt. This is unedited, and it might be a little crappy. This turned from a horror prompt into a horroresque romance prompt, but I'm still in love with this idea.
> 
> Trigger warnings for mentioned suicide, death by cancer, car crash, and drowning.

I hated this job. I hated it more than anything. Ever. Then again, I hated all three of my jobs. In this day in age, though, I needed all three to even pay the bills. Feeding and clothing myself was another story. I was buried so deep in loans, credit card debt, and now the government was even docking my pay to pay back the student loans I incurred while studying for a degree that I didn’t even use now. I prayed each day that maybe just one customer would tip generously enough to help me put food on my table. One could only live on oatmeal and bread for so long before the thought just turned your stomach.

Waiting for the last item for my table, I stared blankly at the counter, thinking back to exactly how I got myself into this situation.

I had left home directly after high school and went straight to college, earning a philosophy degree that got me absolutely nowhere in life. I fell in love young. He was tall, broad shouldered, blonde, and stoic. Erwin had been the best thing that ever happened to me. We struggled through life together, burying ourselves in our debt to pay for our tiny little apartment and to live a comfortable life. I’d been working various jobs to help us make ends meet. He was a writer who just couldn’t catch a break. I married Erwin from the side of a hospital bed, giving him my name moments before he passed on. Even the chemo hadn’t been able to save him, and now I was in such crippling debt that I was barely surviving physically, let alone mentally.

Some days I had to ask myself why I still fought. Why did I fight so hard to live?

The cooks whistling brought me back to reality and I shot my hand out to catch the sliding bowl of soup before anything spilled. I set it next to everything else on the round tray settled against my shoulder and turned with a slight huff back toward the dining room. Maneuvering myself around the various tables, I reached the back wall, stopping at one of the booths.

“Broccoli cheese soup and a club sandwich?” I questioned easily, passing the food along to one of the ladies sitting at the table. 

A few more questions and passed dishes and I was heading back toward the kitchen, grabbing a pitcher of water to make another drink round. The lunch rush at Connie’s Diner was always hell on Earth. I always seemed to get stuck with the lunch crowd, but it made some of the best tips, so I didn’t usually complain too much. 

People around here, though, they never seemed to tip well. It wasn’t just myself, either. Other waiters had the same problem. The worst days were the days when no one in your section tipped more than a few cents or dollars. On those days, I went home with at most $20 for my entire shift. Those were the days that I went hungry in favor for paying my landlord. As much as I wanted to eat, I didn’t want to end up on the streets with nowhere to go.

“Levi? Can you take one of my tables? I’m absolutely swamped,” one of the other waiters, Petra, asked me as she passed.

“Sure,” I muttered, taking the pitcher of water back toward the counter.

“Table six, please. I haven’t even gotten to him yet,” Petra called over her shoulder, staring into the kitchen, obviously waiting eager for the food for one of her tables.

I didn’t say anything else, plucking the notepad and pen from my apron and making my way over to table six. I was so busy staring at the paper in my hand that I didn’t exactly pay attention to the man in the booth, “I’m Levi. I’ll be your server this afternoon. Can I start you off with a drink?”

I spoke in the peppiest and most friendly way that I could manage, tapping my pen against the pad of paper. When I got no response, I finally looked up, meeting a set of golden eyes and a patient smile. He’d been waiting for me to look at him before he would give me his order, and now I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was tall, lean, pale skinned, and he had shaggy brown hair that looked like he had been running his fingers through it quite a bit. His smile never faltered.

“I’ll just take a water, please,” he said smoothly, exuding more confidence than I had ever seen from anyone ever.

It took me a moment to realize that he’d given me his drink order. He waved his hand at me, an eyebrow lifted in curiosity before I finally snapped out of my little trance, “Right. Water. I’ll be right back with that.”

I don’t think my legs could have carried me away faster even if I had willed them to. Something about his gaze made me want to run away, but his smile drew me closer. In the back of my mind, I knew that smile better than anyone. I knew that golden gaze and the emotion it held better than I knew my own heart. And suddenly, all I felt was confusion. What about my husband? What about Erwin? Why did this other man suddenly spark such strong feeling within my heart? It was crippling and I was finding it harder and harder to breathe the more I thought about it.

No. I would not think about it. My goal right now was to get this man the hell out of my restaurant, end my shift, and get to my next job.

I brought the man his water, taking his order and soon serving him his food. I hardly looked at him, let alone spoke to him. When I finally came to give him his check, I caught his gaze. He was frowning at me, much like customers did whenever I seemed to ignore them. Great. I had been so wrapped up in trying to push away whatever this man had stirred in me and now I wasn’t going to get a tip.

Well, I guess I spoke too soon.

He paid in all cash. And for a meal that cost less than ten dollars… he left the biggest tip I’d ever seen. I had to count it a few times before I believed that it was even there.  
“It’s time to wake up, Levi,” the man said calmly as he stood up, pulling his jacket on. He towered so tall over me that I had to step back just to get a good view of him.

My eyes darted right up to his face and I instantly regretted it. Those golden eyes swept me down into their depths and I couldn’t escape. I was drowning in thoughts that I was sure weren’t mine, and even though he wasn’t touching me, I could almost feel his hands on my arms. Then the small of my back. I could feel his lips even though he was…

Gone.

He was gone.

Whipping around, I couldn’t hold the shuddering breaths that escaped my lips. He wasn’t there, and I was still holding the tip that I only now thought of shoving back into his hands. I stared down at the bills, swallowing hard. What had he meant that it was time to wake up? I was awake. I was working. I couldn’t sleep on the job.

And who the fuck carried a thousand dollars in cash on them, let alone gave up the entire sum as a tip?

I tried not to think about it, stuffing it into the front of my apron and getting to cleaning up his table.

He hadn’t touched any of his meal. I’d never refilled his water and the glass was as full as the moment I’d set it down on the table. He hadn’t even unwrapped the silverware.

What the hell was wrong with that guy?

I moved on to the rest of my remaining tables, cleaning up the messes from those who had left. The lunch rush was over, and so was my shift. I only glanced at the clock once before I decided that I needed to hurry my ass up and get out of there before I was late for my next job. 

When I made it back to my apartment, I paused at the door, feeling my heart sink. I wasn’t that far behind on rent. Only a few months worth, but I guess that was ground enough for the eviction notice that was on my door. I tore it off quickly, stomping into my apartment. I showered and changed quickly, donning a pair of black slacks and a grey button up. I slipped the thousand dollars from my pocket, grabbing my coat.

The first thing I did after I locked up was head to the apartment offices. I asked for the manager and threw down the thousand dollars, “That should pay the last two months, and this month,” I said quickly, watching the man contemplate whether to give me another chance or not.

“Actually, rent went up a few months ago. This only pays the last two months and part of this month. You’re still out, Mr. Ackerman,” he said.

The sleaze ball. I had half a mind to reach over the counter and punch him in the throat. I said nothing else, storming out of the office. I was in my car a minute or so later and I was speeding down the streets.

I bet I was one of those drivers that everyone hated. I was obnoxious, and right now, I was fucking pissed. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d caused at least three accidents on my way to work. I pulled into the parking lot of the bar, sitting back in my seat for a few long moments, scrubbing my hands against my face in rage. I punched the steering wheel, setting the horn off and startling myself.

That was enough of that. I’d been in worse situations, and it was times like these that I started to really wonder why I didn’t just throw myself off a bridge or the top floor of a skyscraper. But at that moment, I wasn’t contemplating suicide, I was contemplating the words of the man from the diner.

“What the fuck does that mean? ‘Wake up’?” I muttered to myself, resting my forehead against the steering wheel.

I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Every time I did, I felt those hands that were so foreign but felt so familiar and the lips that just weren’t there. I wanted them to be, and my heart ached in my chest. I quelled the feeling by throwing myself out of my car. 

Quick strides brought me to the front doors of the bar and I ducked into the dimly lit room. I set to work setting up the bar for the night rush, washing down all the counters and tables a couple of times before I was satisfied with the cleanliness of the place. My boss and a few of the other workers were setting the stage for a performance, but I was too focused on my cleaning. When people started filing into establishment, I put on my best smirk and started serving drinks, listening to stories I really didn’t care about.

Everything went well until I saw him.

The golden-eyed man settled in the back, in a booth. His eyes were on me, and I nearly dropped my glass. I muttered a curse, starting to mix a drink, avoiding those eyes. They’d already dragged me to a place I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be, and his earlier words still made my heart hammer. And I still couldn’t understand why.

The night progressed slowly. The man in the booth never ordered anything but water and every time I looked up, he was still watching me. His expression shifted each time I looked up. He went from smiling to looking more and more possessive. By the end of my shift, I was absolutely done with him staring at me. I threw the towel to my replacement, gathering my tips and starting to move to the back of the bar.

I cursed when someone passed in front of me, staggering drunkenly toward his table with another drink in hand. I should have cut him off, but it wasn’t my problem now. Let Hanji deal with it. I didn’t care. What I did care about was the fact that the golden-eyed man was gone again. His water was left untouched like the last time.

And I was left feeling like I’d been punched in the gut. His words, though unspoken this time, echoed in my head.

‘It’s time to wake up, Levi.’

Sinking into the booth, I grabbed the glass that he’d left behind, gulping it all down in an effort to distract myself. This couldn’t be happening. How the hell did he just disappear into thin air all the time? Was I going crazy? Had he even been there in the first place? He had to have been. How else would I have gotten that thousand dollar tip? I was starting to pull my hair out, stressed beyond my limits. Why was this happening to me?

I left the bar in a sorry state, my mind ruined with memories that I didn’t remember. I felt the warmth of that man’s hands again and the feeling was wrecking me from the inside out. I could hardly keep myself afloat financially, and I’d been evicted from the apartment that I’d been living in since Erwin and I had first moved in together. All those memories, both sweet and sour were being ripped from me. The longer I dwelled on the golden-eyed man’s words, the less I remembered about Erwin. The less I felt for that golden hair and those blue eyes. I couldn’t even remember what his laugh sounded like. I couldn’t recall my vows to him. It was like everything was shattering and all that was left were the shards of things I felt nothing for.

I didn’t care about the apartment. I didn’t care about Erwin. My husband. The air that I breathed… until he was taken from me. I didn’t care. I couldn’t. Why the fuck was this happening? Why was this happening now?

I never remembered getting into my car, and I certainly didn’t remember driving to Rose Bridge. I do know that I was driving too fast. There was ice that I couldn’t see.

And there he was. Sitting in the passenger seat. The golden-eyed man with the finger-swept brown hair and unearthly smile.

“You’re going to fast, Levi. You need to wake up,” he said, his smile never breaking.

I shook my head, gripping the steering wheel tighter, squeezing my eyes tightly shut as if to ward him off. “Why are you doing this to me? What are you?” I breathed out hard, pressing on the gas harder than I had before. I had to escape, but he was in the car with me. Those golden eyes were watching me with such a heartbreaking expression that I could hardly take it. I couldn’t focus on the road anymore.

“Your second chance is up, Levi,” was all he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You’re going to fast, Levi. It’s time to wake up,” he said after a few long moments of me staring at him.  
“Why do you keep saying that? What are you?” I screamed at him, jumping as white light flashed in front of my vision.

There was the blaring of a horn, and he reached across from the passenger seat, gripping the steering wheel. He yanked it to the right, bringing my car out of the way of the oncoming semi.

And then off the other side of the bridge. My car plummeted toward the ice laden river. I turned to the golden-eyed man in shock and horror, “What did you do?” I barely uttered, watching the ice coming closer and closer. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact that I knew would be coming.

The car never hit the river.

“Open your eyes, Levi,” the man to my right said in a soft voice.

My eyes shot open and I turned to look at him, my breathing picking up. “Why aren’t we hitting the water?” I asked in a voice so quiet I didn’t even realize that it was my own.

“You’re contemplating your second chance,” he murmured, reaching forward and brushing hair away from my forehead.

“What do you mean my second chance? Why do you keep telling me to wake up?”

He laughed then, and it was one of the most beautiful things that I had ever heard. It made my heart wrench and I wanted nothing more than to launch myself into his lap. My fear and the seatbelt held me in my seat. “Your second chance at life, Levi.”

It was such a simple answer but it confused me terribly. I gripped the steering wheel, swallowing hard.

“I don’t… I don’t understand. What are you? Why did I have a second chance at life?” I whispered, staring down at the river my car was supposed to have sunk into.

He simply shook his head, giving me a very soft smile, “I can’t answer that for you, Levi. You need to wake up.”

Suddenly, those golden eyes were closer than ever. He was leaning across the center console to get closer to me. My lips parted but no sound came out. This time, the brush of lips on my neck was real and I melted closer to him, feeling helpless. The gesture gave me comfort I didn’t even know that I needed. He lifted his head, brushing his fingers along the front of my shirt, his eyes level with mine.

I didn’t even stop to think.

When we kissed, it was like fire burned up from my chest and lingered in my limbs. He was chaste, but reserved, as if he was holding himself back. He was the first to pull away, and he smiled at me, a heartbreaking and absolutely staggering smile “Open your eyes, Levi.”

And he was gone again. I cried out, reaching into the empty space of the car, as if that would suddenly bring him back to me. I was frantic, panicked. My heart beat wildly in my chest. I wanted him to come back. I wanted that golden-eyed boy whose name I didn’t even know. I wanted those lips, those eyes, those too-warm hands. Where did they go?

I just felt… cold. I hurt all over. I was drowning. Sinking.

The river enveloped my car, and I realized then that I truly was drowning. For some reason, I didn’t struggle. I let the current drag my vehicle further and further into its depths, my eyes staring ahead at nothing.

‘Open your eyes. Wake up.’

His voice cut through the silence, and I gasped, swallowing the murky, cold water that filled the tiny space.

And just like that, everything came back. Every memory. Every touch. Every kiss. Every laugh. I saw centuries of time at that golden-eyed brat’s side. I saw wars. I saw plagues. I saw death. Always death. There was no blood on my scythe. There was never any blood. Only the confused looks of souls who thought they were invincible or far too young to die. The hardest had always been taking the souls of children. They were all far too wise and understanding, and they never got to live.

Then there was him. My golden-eyed brat. Begging me not to go. Begging me not to leave the side I’d so loyally remained at for so long. His tears hurt made my heart clench. I never knew how badly I’d needed him. I’d gotten a second chance at the life that I’d never had, but I’d failed. I had been falling too fast for me to pick myself up again, and he’d been watching me. He’d been at my side through everything, even if I didn’t see him.

I’d failed the second chance that he had so kindly given me. He’d let me go to follow the dreams that I’d never been able to fulfil in my first lifetime. He’d broken laws and millennia old rules to give me something I had wanted too deeply to get over. I’d left him behind. I’d left our happiness behind to fill my own selfish needs, and I’d still failed to get life right.

My brat. My annoying, shitty brat.

I screamed his name into the water, feeling it fill my lungs. I screamed it until I couldn’t scream anymore. Until the cold left me feeling numb. Until I felt nothing. Not even my own body.

The car fell away, and I was swimming away, only looking back to see my lifeless body sink further into the darkness. Then again, that body was only the shell for the horror that it’d held in its depths. I broke the surface of the water, walking slowly up the bank, water dripping down my form. My eyes trailing up toward the bridge that the car had driven off. There were people crowded around the broken railings and I could hear the screams.

“I never left you.”

That voice. That beautiful voice. It sent shivers down my spine and I twisted around quickly, looking up into the molten eyes of my brat. His fingers curled tightly around his scythe, his dark robes hanging loosely around him.

For the first time in what felt like years, I actually smiled.

“Eren.”

I couldn’t say much more than that before arms were around my shoulders and lips crushed against my own. I gave in easily, my hands gripping his robes as if I’d lose him if I let him go. But I wasn’t going to let him go. I wasn’t going to leave him again. We were partners. Forever until we both crossed the final name off of Death’s list.

“You woke up,” he breathed as he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine. He focused on slipping a dark ring onto my finger and I felt the gentle weight of my robes wrap me up in their warmth. I held my hand out, only to be met with my scythe, something I hadn’t ever thought that I would miss.

But there would always be something that I would miss more.


	2. Monster Mash Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ghosts

I woke to howling, my eyes fluttering open to observe the moon. It was far away, but tonight it was large and blood red, and it looked close enough to touch. My power was overwhelming on nights like this. My partner on the other hand, he was a writhing, howling mess. When Eren and I were first partnered together all those centuries ago, his affliction bothered me greatly. I couldn’t understand how he could stand the pain that took over and forced him to change his shape.

Hell, the first time he’d ever shifted on the full moon, I’d been terrified that he was going to die. Then, I had cursed Death for not warning me that Eren was a werewolf.

I turned my head slowly to observe Eren. My Eren. He was about fifty feet away, curled into himself, screaming and clawing into the ground below him. He’d undressed and neatly folded his clothes an hour before, and now I was using them as a pillow. I hadn’t wanted to doze off, but ever since I’d woken a few weeks before, I’d been exhausted. After thirty years of being human, it was taking a staggering amount of time to recover into my true form.

I swallowed hard, watching as Eren suddenly jerked, his body shuddering, his muscles rippling under the taut, tanned skin. A few moments later, he rose to all four paws, his large wolfine body shuddering off the last remnants of the shift. Golden eyes found mine, and I finally let out the breath I hadn't even known I was holding.

“Eren…” I breathed, holding my hand out toward him. He padded easily forward, nudging my hand against his forehead. I curled my fingers into his fur, smiling gently as I sat up.

I could see all the tension disappearing from Eren’s body as my fingers slipped along his neck and then back to his shoulder blades.

“You still worry me, brat,” I said slowly, settling my forehead against his for a long moment.

Eren replied with a soft sigh, pushing me back with his head. I landed with my head back against the pile of his folded clothes, and he slumped down across my chest, effectively pinning me to the ground. I knew he was telling me to rest. The only reason I’d woken up was because of the moon forcing his change and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. I’d never been good at keeping my emotions reigned in when he changed. It hurt my heart to see him in so much pain.

But we had been together for thousands upon thousands of years, and somewhere along the way, I’d found a way to numb the pain in my heart. I knew that he would be fine, and that’s all I had to tell myself. Eren would be fine. He’d open those golden eyes and he would be mine again, even though he’d always be in the shape of that staggeringly large, brown wolf.

Sighing heavily, I relaxed, letting Eren stay where he was. I wouldn’t pass up these moments for the world. I’d just gotten him back and I wanted nothing more than to feel his warmth and the comfort of his body, no matter human or canine. He was still Eren. He was still my brat, and he always would be.

The wolf growled at me when I didn’t close my eyes, and I angled my head to look down at him. He gave me a pointed look, golden eyes stern, and I finally gave in, closing my eyes and relaxing. Darkness overwhelmed me as I listened to Eren’s breathing. I don’t even remember falling asleep.

I opened my eyes to soft sunlight right as the sun was tipping over the horizon. It cast everything in it’s golden glow, and I turned my head, looking into the face of a now human Eren. He was completely naked and pressed against my side to keep me warm.

That was always a perk of having a werewolf as a mate. Werewolves had incredible body temperatures. Eren in particular was like a space heater, but I never minded. I was always cold, so the feeling was constantly comforting and welcome. One of the other perks of Eren being a werewolf? The mornings after the full moon were blissful in the best possible way. He always woke up frisky and I encouraged the behavior. How could I not? My brat was a gorgeous sex god of death and I couldn’t help myself.

I knew he was awake the moment his fingers slipped under my shirt, trailing along the hard muscle. “Mmm… you’re cold,” he muttered quietly, leaning in close to my neck. I shuddered the moment his lips connected with the hollow of my throat.

“Then warm me up, pup,” I ground out, still hardly coherent.

His dark chuckle sent heat flushing through me, and I was straddling him less than a second later. I tried my best to look as possessive as possible, even though I knew I wouldn’t have any semblance of control with him. No. The dog never listened to the master on these mornings. The moment he rolled our positions, I’d lost.

The sun was settled high in the morning sky by the time we even thought about being decent individuals, but I was too breathless and relaxed to care. Eren was focused on licking the last drops of blood from my collarbone where he’d bitten deep and hard. His tongue only served to take my breath from me when I’d only just collected myself. I could tell he was moments away from latching onto me again, and as eager as I was to have him again, I knew that we had a job to do. I pushed his face away with my hand.

“Oi, it’s almost noon,” I muttered weakly, not sure if I even trusted my voice at that moment, “You’ve had me every which way for the last six or so hours.”

“There’s a reason why we’re immortal,” Eren complained, curling into my side again. I closed my eyes and shuddered slightly, turning my head to kiss him.

He groaned when I finally pulled back, “That doesn’t mean we don’t have a job to do.”

As if he remembered that we really did have obligations, Eren rolled onto his back, “Curse it all. How many names today?”

I held my hand out to my side, a small book forming in my palm. I flipped it open to the first page, noting that there weren’t very many names. There never was the day after the full moon. Death had gotten pretty used to us being completely indisposed until the afternoon hours and he’d adjusted our workload accordingly.

Until Eren had been brought into the Reaper Core, there hadn’t ever been a Werewolf Reaper. Werewolves were rare, and by the time they died most had gone insane or completely phased over to a feral and animalistic side of themselves. Once they turned feral, there was no saving them. Eren, however, had died at a young age. He had been far from losing himself, so Death had taken a chance. Eren had been instantly paired with me. A werewolfs other half. 

A warlock.

I’d never kept partners for very long before him. I’d died somewhere around 5000 BC, in what is now France, and I’d had numerous partners until Eren joined me two thousand years later. None of my other partners had been compatible. In the world of the living, warlocks were solitary. They hardly formed covens or took to anyone for company. The only exception to this was when a warlock bonded with a werewolf familiar. When I’d lived, I’d never had a familiar. I’d been alone, and I’d died of illness… alone. When Death chose me to be one of his own, I hadn’t been able to stomach any of my partners.

Until my brat, of course.

Those golden eyes and his upbeat temperament had been a breath of fresh air for me. I went from being a grumpy, old warlock to finally feeling complete. There was a bond that instantly formed between Eren and I, and I didn’t fight it. I was powerless to, not that I’d ever regret falling for the kid as fast as I did.

“Three. A poltergeist, a demon, and... a witch,” I said finally, caught between slight exhaustion and alarm. We rarely ever took the souls of witches or warlocks. They were rarer than the werewolves, and a lot trickier, considering many of them could see us for who we really were. You couldn’t hide yourself from a medium or a psychic because with a single look, they knew exactly who and what you were.

Eren gave a slow huff as he sat up, flinching a bit. I noted the numerous scratches that ran down his back, but I was far from being sorry about it. The dark mark I’d left on his neck would surely take a while to heal, but it’d been payback for him biting down on my collarbone so hard… not that I minded.

Tight muscles rippled in Eren’s back and he yawned, “Seems like a rather tricky haul. A poltergeist, a demon, and fucking hell, a witch. I think Death’s trying to tell us something, Levi.”

I was about to say something, but another voice cut me off. The annoying voice of a shapeshifter I would have loved to have remained ignorant to.

“He’s probably telling you to be useful for once.”

Eren scrambled to cover himself, but I just relaxed further into the grass, determined to ignore her. Maybe if I stayed completely still, she wouldn’t be able to see me. Maybe she’d walk away.

“Bri-Brianna!” Eren stuttered, all traces of the wolfish dominance from a few minutes ago gone, “W-What are you doing here?”

“Don’t call me Brianna, wolfie. Bri. BRI. I tell you this every time,” she grumbled at Eren.

Then the blonde shapeshifter, who was as tall as I was by the way, looked from Eren to me. I opened my eyes lazily to glare at her. I knew what was coming and I was already having a hard time not wringing her neck.

“Considering todays haul includes a demon, Death decided to send us with you,” Bri noted, still staring at me. “Get up shortstack, we’re going hunting.”

Leave it to her to use a Mean Girls reference while I lay here naked in the grass. Okay. It was time to get up. Even I had a little more shame than this.

“Where’s your master, Fledgling?” I retorted, sitting up and stretching. Damn Eren had worn me out. I gave him a little glare and he just grinned sheepishly as he pulled his pants on. I followed suit, giving no thought to decency.

“Racy? Oooooohhhhh she’s somewhere,” Bri noted, rocking back and forth on her heels, smirking smugly at me.

I scowled at her hair, noting that it wasn’t just her attitude that served to piss me off. Every time I saw her, she had a different style, and this time it was shaved on all three sides, with her hair remaining long on one side. I’m also quite sure that she wasn’t always blonde, but I don’t think I’d ever seen it’s actual color.

My clothes suddenly landed in my lap, and I let my gaze trail to Eren. His expression was possessive and I could tell that he didn’t like the fact that I was still stark naked. Pushing myself to my feet, I slipped my pants and a light, black long sleeved shirt on, humming as I felt warmth enveloping me. It wasn’t the same as Eren’s warmth, but for the moment it was good enough. It really didn’t help that I was always cold. Eren was my heat source. He kept me from freezing, and I vaguely wondered how I’d ever survived for so long in the human world.

There was a reason that werewolves and warlocks were always mated. Werewolves were hot blooded. Their body temperatures were higher. Warlocks? Well, we were cold through and through. The further from our mate we were, after finding them, of course, the colder we grew until there was no moving. Our bodies would freeze, and we would eventually die. That’s what had happened to me when I hadn’t met my mate in time. It had only taken two years after my eighteenth birthday for me to freeze completely, and once my heart had stopped, it was over. Thankfully, Death had seen something good in me and had decided to pull me into his ranks. I’d remained cold until Eren came along, and ever since, I was constantly and delightfully warm. I’d thawed and I finally felt free. It was a great feeling.

But now, my mind was on another matter at hand. Our jobs. And the annoying little twerp who was staring at me with those blue eyes that I couldn’t even deny were cute. Goddamnit I couldn’t stay mad at her, no matter how much she irritated me.

“Where’s Racy?” I repeated, brushing grass off my pants, reaching up as Eren came up behind me with my robes. The moment I touched them they turned into a smoke like substance that enveloped my body, shrouding me in a smoldering black darkness. I kept my hood down, my arms crossed over my chest under the smokey fabric.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched Eren don his own, his body disappearing into the darkness of his own robes. Bri’s were slightly translucent, a sign of her fledgling status. The more souls she took, the darker her robes would become until they were jet black and she was inducted as a full blown Grim Reaper. The fact that hers were a deep grey meant that she had very few souls left to take before it was her time.

Brianna didn’t even get to reply, breathing in sharply as a dark arm suddenly draped across her shoulders. Racy had a silent grace that even I appreciated and the fact that I hadn’t even felt her coming was saying something about her skill and my blatant inattention to my surroundings. The raven haired shapeshifter smiled down at her shorter counterpart with eyes the same gold as my brat’s. If it weren’t for the absence of elongated canines, one would almost mistake her for a werewolf.

“Sorry I’m late,” Racy’s voice was soft, yet it commanded attention.

Bri paled until she was white as a sheet, starting to stutter through hers words, “Ra-Racy. I was just-”

“I know what you were doing,” Racy cut her off quietly, tightening her grip around Bri’s shoulders. “And you know how I feel about it, don’t you?”

“Yes, Master Racy,” Bri mumbled under her breath.

“So Master Levi can hear you,” Racy mused, sounding slightly amused at shaming her student.

“Yes, Master Racy.” It was repeated loudly, and Bri lifted her head to look toward me, clearly swallowing hard.

I felt a little bad about it, but the fact of the matter was that Bri was still a fledgling. Until she herself was a master, her speaking out against anyone higher up than her was almost taboo. I was a pushover, so I always let it go, but a Reaper as old as Racy? There was no escaping the order and control that she demanded.

I should know.

She was my master.

Even I felt the pull to listen to her every word. And it was a dangerous feeling. While there had never been too many cases of a master using their power over their fledglings for evil, there had still been a few cases of it. In fact, the most recent incident had been of a master ordering his fledglings to kill other Grim Reapers. It was an offence punishable by Judgement, and no one wanted to endure Judgement. Ever.

I vaguely felt Eren’s arm slip around my waist, pulling me closer toward him. I hadn’t even realized that I was shivering. I relaxed slightly, clearing my throat. “So the first on our list is the…”

“The poltergeist. Her name is… Melody. She seems to be causing some trouble in Shiganshina. A historical building, I believe,” Racy spoke up, looking at her own black book and patting Bri’s shoulder lightly. The fledgling seemed to have relaxed, comforted by the presence of her master. 

I rolled my shoulders back slowly, twirling my wrist slightly to call my scythe to me. It materialized from the air, a vortex swirling around and around before my fingers locked around the base. Eren ran a nail along his palm, his own scythe forming from the blood that pooled there. Racy’s scythe formed from the sunlight in the meadow. Bri pulled her necklace off, letting the weapon enlarge in her hand.

Seeing that everyone was ready, I threw my hand out to my side. “Aperi,” the word slipped off my tongue, accented perfectly. The portal appeared at the tips of my fingers, swirling and then solidifying. Eren stepped through first, followed by Racy and then Bri. I followed after them, waving my hand at the portal, “Finem.” The dark opening closed behind me.

We stood in front of Shiganshina church, hidden from the view of humans. They’d never know what was happening around them. We could pass right through a human in our reaping forms and they would never be the wiser.

“Bri, you get to take this one,” I heard myself saying before I even thought about it. By the look of her robes, I knew for a fact that she was close to becoming a master. I wasn’t going to ruin her chances by taking a soul that she could have added to her count. I was all for helping the little ones, no matter how badly they annoyed me at times.

Bri nodded slowly, giving her okay. We started up the stairs and into the church. As soon as we entered, I was taken aback by the amount of power that was coming from this poltergeist. I could feel her, but she wasn’t malevolent. No… the feeling was… playful. I cleared my throat, scratching the back of my head before pulling my hood up. Everyone followed suit and then we started forward, moving in all different directions.

Eren paused by the confessional, frowning, “I hear her,” he said gruffly, glancing around the room. There was no one in here, thank fucking god. Oh. Oops. House of worship. I forgot. Eren reached toward the confessional door and flung it open.

“You found meeee!” the poltergeist giggled, skipping out into the middle room. Her brown hair floated outward from her skull like she was submersed in water. “Oh. Ah. Uhm, what did I do to deserve a visit from the Grim Reaper Core?”

Eren sighed, following the ghost quietly, though I could tell that he was already irritated. Poltergeists were a bitch to catch, though this one seemed like she might be a bit easier to apprehend. Racy slipped forward slowly, coming up on one side of Melody and I gravitated toward the other. Bri stood in front of her, the only thing showing from under her hood were glowing blue eyes shining out from a skull-like mask. That was the great thing about the robes. They shrouded who we really were. You truly saw death when you met our gazes.

“Oooooh. You’re here to take me. Well, I’m not going, so good luck!” she giggled once more, turning and skipping through our formation, going to sit in the pews. I frowned to myself, turning and following her.

“We aren’t leaving until we catch you,” I said loudly, my voice masked into a deathly whine. The stained glass windows rattled in place. The other three followed closely behind, obviously ready to use force and just get this over with.

Melody seemed to stop and think about it for a moment, “Nope. I’m not going anywhere… unless of course… you do something for me?”

We didn’t negotiate with spirits. That was the first of Death’s laws. I scowled, though I knew Melody would never see it. “We don’t negotiate orders, Melody.”

“You know my name. That’s cute,” she was swinging her legs through the floor, as if she was on a high swing. “I only want one thing, you know,” she mused slowly, giving me a pleading look. No. She wouldn’t win this one. I wasn’t going to negotiate.

Racy stepped in, sensing my irritation, “What is it that you want, Melody?”

Again, her voice sounded deliberate and calm and I had a hard time fathoming how she kept her cool so easily.

“I want to be a Grim Reaper.”

Fucking hell.

Eren growled from where he stood, suddenly putting his hood down. Bri followed suit, looking dejected that she wasn’t going to get her soul. Racy’s slipped back next and her scythe disappeared. She crossed her arms over her chest, eying Melody with an impassive expression.

“No,” I hissed before anyone could say anything.

Racy scoffed at me, “You know the law, Levi. If a spirit, whether ghost, holy, or poltergeist wants to become a Reaper, we cannot deny them. She’s as good as one of us at this point.”

“No.”

“My hands are tied,” Racy noted, stepping up to stand next to Melody. She held out a hand to the poltergeist who eagerly grasped it, standing… well floating up. “We’ll take you to meet Death, Melody.”

I pushed my hood back, feeling rage bubble in my stomach. The only thing keeping me in place was Eren’s hand, which suddenly pressed against my shoulder. Damn it all, I didn’t want to deal with this. I felt Eren’s lips next to my ear, and I sighed softly as he spoke.

“You can’t let your grudge against the poltergeists cloud your judgement, Levi. The law is law. She’s going to the Underworld,” his voice was soothing, and I felt myself starting to relax. I knew I had no power over what happened with this poltergeist now. It was Death’s deal now, and I hoped that he would play the right cards.

Poltergeists were selfish creatures, and time and time again they caused more trouble than they were worth. I hated the law for that very reason.

Clicking my tongue, I turned away from everyone. Throwing my arm out toward the door of the church, I begrudgingly said the one word that would take us straight to Death’s throne.

“Tartarum.”

The portal that opened pulled us all in at once, Melody’s hand remaining in Racy’s the entire time. My head felt fuzzy when we landed, but Eren’s arm around my waist steadied me. I trailed my gaze up toward the throne, staring right into the faces that embodied Death.

Maria.

Rose.

Sina.

The triple goddess of Death.

I was on my knees the moment I met their gazes, my head bowed. I didn’t have to look to know that the others were also in the same position. The only one who would remain standing was the subject of their attention, and I only prayed that this would end well for all of us.

I could hear Melody stepping closer to the throne, but she didn’t say anything.

The goddesses spoke all at once.

“Welcome to Tartarum, Poltergeist. We’re happy to have you within our ranks, Fledgling. Your teacher will be none other than Master Levi.”

I felt Eren tense at my side.

Well, fuck.


End file.
